


Control Freak

by salemwitches (orphan_account)



Category: Now You See Me (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Humor, F/M, Fluff, Heavy Angst, Mental Health Issues, Post-Now You See Me 2, Team as Family, fluff at points
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-01
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-09-13 20:28:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9141016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/salemwitches
Summary: dis·so·ci·a·tion/diˌsōSHēˈāSH(ə)n,diˌsōsēˈāSH(ə)n/NounThe disconnection or separation of something from something else or the state of being disconnected.





	1. A Letter

Dear Henley,

Under the circumstances, there is _no way_ I'm sending this. **_Ever_**. However, there's still some things I wanted to tell you.

I overheard something. On the plane about a year ago, when we were trying to get Tressler's information, Merritt was talking to you as I walked up. He said something about you liking me, and you played it off, and I shouldn't of let you.

Because I liked you, too.

I've been in love with you since the moment I asked you to be my assistant. But those days are gone, and now so are you, and I miss you. A lot. But that's definitely not what this letter is about.

I wanted to update you, not on the Horsemen, but on me. I know you watch the news. You've seen us already.

I am a boat. You were my anchor. Now you're gone... I've been spaced out more.

Just like the old times, remember? Let me tell you about a conversation I had earlier, with Jack.

Jack said, "I want you to listen." 

I told him I was listening, which, I really _was_ trying to.

"Dylan's planning another heist. But I want it to be you, and so does Merritt. Lula doesn't wanna get kicked yet so she's staying on the good side, which, she wouldn't- nevermind. You plan everything, Atlas, and I think you should be planning this, too." 

I was following until that point. I asked what he meant.

He told me he wanted me to confront Dylan and question authority. Normally, I would've agreed. But for some reason, as he kept talking, the farther away his voice got. I could no longer understand the words coming out of his mouth. I still haven't processed them, even now that he's left me.

I think it's happening again, Henley. I think it's your fault.

I was fine. But now, the world isn't real. It's like I'm watching myself from a screen. I can't think straight, I can't sleep, but when I do, it's blank. No dreams, no nightmares, just black imagery. Merritt's already picked up - fucking mentalist - but he doesn't seem to know. He can't see through the screen like I can. 

 _Never_ will I go back to that dumb physiatrist. If I say anything, to _**anyone**_ , that's what they'll tell me to do. It's _not happening_.

~~**Please come back.** ~~

~~Love,~~  Sincerely,

_J. Daniel Atlas_


	2. Stars & Space & Everything of Grace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't know lines and scenes word for word im sorry!!! also i know my chapters r short lol soz

~~Henley's steps echoed down the hallway, and Danny could hear the FBI outside the hotel door. He could tell she was already prepared, stalling, and maybe a little pissed off. She was always pissed at him, and he only knew why half of the time. "Put your hands up!" the voice rang through Danny's ears, and he chuckled, turning, a deck of cards safely in his hand. He rose his hands, and almost laughed at Merritt's groan of a response, but didn't, and watched with a half annoyed, half deprived smile as Henley arrived at the top of the stairs, only half of her blazer on. "Oh! Could one of you gentlemen help us with our bags?" She questioned, and Danny almost stepped up when he realized one, it was a joke, and two, they were about to get fucking arrested. How awesome.~~

* * *

"Hey, Danny! Could Lula and I run some new tricks by ya real quick?" Jack asked, jumping up as Danny, tiredly, made his way to the living room. He stopped for a moment to process what Jack had said, and then waved his arm, wrapping his sweater tighter around his torso. "No," he answered gruffly, sitting down on the loveseat and immediately putting his feet up on the coffee table. Jack glanced between Lula and Merritt, who had both stopped what they were doing to watch Danny's movements, and then looked back at Danny. "The fuck?"

Danny hummed an unfamiliar tone, and closed his eyes. "What?" he grumbled, his head pounding. He didn't really notice the physical pain anymore, he just noticed the overflow of indescribable, incommunicable thoughts that ran through. It was absurd, the way his mind had been working lately, and pain killers only made it worse. Still, the dumb psychiatrist was way too down on the totem pole to even be a thought. 

Merritt took a bite out of his sandwich and began speaking in the middle of a swallow. "Well, Buffy, we're kinda-" he paused to finish the bite, "Maybe not me, but Jack and Lula here, sure, they're.. what do the kids call it? Oh, worried about you!" he explained, picking his sandwich up and sitting at the dining room table, not taking his eyes off the shaking figure on the loveseat. 

Danny opened his mouth to speak, and shook his head, mulling over his words. "Well, I think _I_ should be worried about _them_." he said, locking eyes with Jack. "Jack, you always want to show me something for clarification that it's shit. Every time you show me something, it's horrible and you change it because I tell you so, but I think you already know that it sucks. So why show me? Just make something good **_for once_**." he snapped, and Jack froze. 

Sure, Danny had said horrible things to Jack more than once, but it was never like _that_.

"Well, I.. uh... when I s-show you something, I'm actually, somewhat, proud of it and I think it's... o- okay, and then you always sa-say it's bad, and I have to agree, 'cause you're the best magician here." Jack stammered, and Danny looked at him in surprise and shock. He swallowed, watching the way Jack shook, and then he _smiled_. 

"That's what I want, Jack! You're so doubtful of yourself, and even though, yeah, your ideas _**are** _ shit- but that doesn't mean you're not allowed to have them. You're a good magician, too." Danny said, and Jack looked between him and Lula, and then stood up. "Oh, fuck you, Danny!" he growled, grabbing Lula's hand and storming outside with her. Danny chuckled as Lula slammed the door, and rolled his eyes, sinking deeper into the loveseat. "It was a compliment, but okay," he mumbled, and Merritt, finishing his sandwich, stood up and began walking towards him.

"Oh, no, no, please- no gimmicks, no tricks, I don't want to be read today." Danny huffed, crossing his arms over his chest and looking up at Merritt with amusement. "Oh, I wasn't gonna read you, but nice try. I was just gonna say, you're becoming more of an asshole. But it's different- I think you've made it all the way up to the dick level!" Merritt laughed. "You better apologize before Jack runs away or something like Henley did."

**_Like Henley did._ **

Danny looked over at the door, and it opened. Black stilettos clicked on the floor, and Henley looked _beautiful_. Her hair was freshly cut, but still flowing smoothly past her shoulders, and she wasn't wearing much makeup. Danny hummed, and watched as she silently made her way over to him and...

Hit him in the face.

"Ow!" he choked out, closing his eyes and rubbing over the now sore spot. Upon looking up, he took note that it was, in fact, **_not_ ** Henley, and instead, a very angry Lula.


	3. Ressurection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trigger warning, also please comment on this chapter on what i can do to improve my writing/what you like/etc!!

As soon as Danny processed that Lula had just _hit_ him, and she was not, in fact, Henley, he jumped up and locked himself in the bathroom.

It didn't take long for him to fall to the floor and choke up, his mind jumping from image to image quicker than he could see them all, and it was a _blur_. Danny's skin hurt and his heart ached, and everything felt so close and confined and _just like it used to_ , back when he'd do something ( _ **everything**_ ) wrong and his mother would come in and slap him, and if it was bad, she'd probably beat him up too. He'd lock himself in the bathroom, or, more accurately, the closet, and scream into a pillow, his hands, a wall, anything- just to calm himself down enough to stop bawling and man up.

Lula's hand felt exactly like his mother's- it probably didn't but Danny could feel the rage and hatred and he could see the way she clenched her fist just like his father did, and he couldn't get the image out of his head. It was cold in September when he came home from school one day, and he could tell something was off, his father's car was still in the driveway but his mother's wasn't, but Danny had tried to ignore it and rush to his room like always, but upon going inside, he could smell it. The house reeked with an odor close to locker room at school, but it was _worse_ , and he couldn't bare it. "Mom?" he called, hoping she was there, even though something told him that he'd never see her _again_. 

Danny explored the house bottom-to-top, but didn't find anything until he, unwillingly, stepped into his parents' bedroom. The smell radiated from the bathroom, the door was shut, and he _knew_. His mother's threats never scared anyone, and she knew that, but she also knew her own capabilities and Danny didn't know half of went on when he was away. "Dad? Mom?" he whisper-yelled, too afraid to make any noise, his throat closing up and his body trying it's hardest to shut down but he wouldn't _let_ it, stepping closer to the door. He swung it open and _**screamed**_.

"No, no, no-!" he huffed, the tears finally falling as he saw his own father, a bloody, dead mess on the floor. A knife was in the sink, only half washed, and Danny just knew his mother left so Danny would be the one to discover it. He couldn't take his eyes off his father's contorted body, and even when he called 911 and choked on **_every single word,_**  he couldn't look away. His father, such a shitty one, at that, dead, in front of him- his mother, abusive, the murderer, and he _still_ loved them. Danny decided in that moment, when the police arrived on scene and escorted him away, starting to care for him and telling him over and over about the 'shock' he was experiencing, that he was never going to love again.

Danny somehow  _knew_ the rest of the Horsemen could hear him crying, so he tried to listen to their words instead of replaying his past in his head, over and over. Lula was yelling. "Why the fuck is he crying, huh? He's such a dick, always playing the victim!" she snapped, and he could hear Jack shushing her, trying to calm her down, saying something about how 'Atlas never shares his past, you don't know,' and it made Danny want to _kill himself_. 

Merritt's footsteps came towards the door, and then there was a knock, and then some soft words. "Atlas, can you please come out and tell the kiddies what your sudden problem is?" he asked, still sarcastic and annoying, but not as harsh, in Danny's opinion, as he could of been.

Danny stayed silent. He wasn't going to face anyone yet, not until he could face himself. He pressed his body against the door, just in case Jack tried to pick the lock, and cried himself to sleep.

* * *

Lula eventually calmed herself down, realizing that she _was_ just a bit too harsh on Danny, and Merritt decided they should all have a talk. Danny still wasn't opening the door, so Merritt convinced Jack that picking the lock would be best, and he did. Once the lock was picked, Jack slowly pushed it open, seeing Danny asleep against the wall, and sucked in a deep breath. "He's fine," he mumbled, glancing at Merritt. "Should we wake him? It's been hours." 

Of course, Merritt said waking him would be best for the team, since Lula was pacing around, hoping she could just apologize and get the stupid reunion over with. Jack crawled over to Danny's body and shook him, mumbling some words of 'wake up' and 'it's fine.' Danny slowly came to, his eyes fluttering open. He pushed himself to sit up, rubbing at his swollen eyes. "Okay, okay, I'm awake," he said, looking around. Once he met Jack's eyes, his heart sank.

"Is Henley still mad at me?"


End file.
